


All the way home I’ll be warm

by Cefhclwords



Series: Ficmas 2019 [3]
Category: Men's Football RPF
Genre: Christmas, Drunk Eric, Ficmas, First Meetings, M/M, Meet-Cute, Winter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2019-12-14
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:27:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21789772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cefhclwords/pseuds/Cefhclwords
Summary: Day 3 of the 12 days of FicmasBased on the Prompt: We’re waiting in line for the club when you complain that your roommate stole your gloves so let me warm your hands up with mine
Relationships: Dele Alli/Eric Dier
Series: Ficmas 2019 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1568377
Comments: 16
Kudos: 54





	All the way home I’ll be warm

**Author's Note:**

> Here we are day threeee my loves <3 I hope you enjoy this little meet-cute fic of our boys!! comment and kudos mean the world to me and make the hard work this has been so worth it! <3 any feedback would be great!

It wasn’t snowing, but it was like very much almost snowing and Dele couldn’t feel his hands. He shouldn’t even be here, really, he should be in his dorm under his pile of winter blankets, watching Peaky Blinders and eating McDonald’s in bed, as were his original Friday night plans.

University exams had ended on Thursday and Dele was more than ready to spend his entire day doing absolutely nothing to celebrate. He had been doing that with great success until seven pm when his brother, Jesse, Marcus, Jadon, all showed up with a case of beer and half a bottle of rum, telling Dele to get up and get dressed. According to the boys, they had to go out to celebrate the end of the semester and by no means was Dele having a night in. 

Dele had even tried to persuade them, said that he was feeling a bit flu-y and achy and might be coming down with something, but Harry wasn’t having it, placed a hand to Dele’s forehead and deemed no fever meant drinks. Dele whined the entire time, grumbled as he got up to get dressed but the boys weren’t giving in. Dele finally admitted defeat after it had gone past an hour of them being in his room, And he knew he wasn’t going to win that fight. 

It was fine, he convinced himself, he’d have some drinks- it would be nice to unwind, a beer or two and then head with them to the club, wait an hour till the boys got hammered and then slip away and be in bed before midnight. He could do this. 

All things considered, Dele couldn’t be bothered to fiddle around with an outfit and just went for black jeans with a black long sleeve with a scorpion graphic on the front, conceded more so with being warm, than anything else. He layered up in a black hoodie and had his coat by the door, hoped that would be enough to stop him from freezing. 

Dele got cold so easily, it was half the reason he didn’t like to go out in winter, no matter what he did, he always felt frozen when out during winter. 

He sat with the boys and slowly got through three beers by the time Jesse deemed they were ready to go, already on drunk and climbing onto Marcus’s back demanding to be carried as they walked out the door. God Dele only gave it two more drinks before they were in a corner of the club being disgustingly cute and all over each other. Dele didn’t need another night of being surrounded by couples, so he was thankful for Harry and Jadon to break it up. He was happy for Jesse and Marcus, glad they sorted it out and confessed their feelings for each other, they made each other so happy, and Dele hated the jealous feeling that it stirred in the pit of his stomach but he couldn’t help it. Dele ached for something like they had, his last relationship was in January, and it hadn’t lasted long.

As the holidays were approaching, the ache for something, someone grew. He wanted someone that looked at him like Jesse looked at Marcus, he longed for someone that got him, that made the days better, made him laugh, made him feel safe. He wanted someone he could bring home to his parents and Harry and Molly, someone to love and take care of. God, just someone to lie in bed and watch stupid Christmas movies with. 

It seemed to be, at this time of year, that the couples all around him became far more obvious and harder to ignore, onto proved to make him feel lonelier this holiday season. He’s spoken to Harry about this, so Dele had a sneaking suspicion the whole ‘let’s get Dele out’ mission was driven by his brother. Not that he ever found clubs were the best place to meet someone beyond a hookup or occasional friends with benefits. But, if it made Harry worry less about him, then he could go along for a few drinks. 

Deep down, it didn’t so much do anything but aid the feeling of loneliness, when he spent another night going home alone to an empty bed. Dele shook his head to rid himself of his worrying and accepted the half-empty bottle Jadon was handing him, finished the beer before he tossed it in a trash can as they walked by. 

The club was only a ten-minute walk from campus and therefore was always packed with college kids. The place itself wasn’t bad, Dele was at least thankful for that, on a night he was in the mood for it, Cadillac’s was the best place to head out in their town, cheap drinks and good music. However, that also meant a long line, especially the night after exams were over. 

Dele groaned when he saw the long line stretching a few meters down the sidewalk, groups of students laughing and talking loudly as bouncers filtered them through with ID checks. 

“Come on mate, cheer up, it will be like a ten-minute wait max I’m sure we will be there in no time, you know the lines always move fast” Marcus chirped happily, his hand tangled with Jesse’s as they stepped into black at the back of the line, a loud group of boys joining behind them quickly after. 

Dele paid no mind to them and got comfortable leaning against the brick wall of the building, sure they wouldn’t be moving for a good while, he may as well be comfortable.

The boys chatted easily as the waited, about their exams, what plans they had coming up for the break and the others sipped from a small flask Jesse had brought along with him, Dele refused quietly with a small shake of his head, ignored the ribbing he got for it with a laugh and scoff, dismissing wave of his hand. 

Dele was already loose and relaxed from the few beers he’d had in his room, and didn’t want anymore in that moment. A few minutes had passed and now that they were no longer walking, the cold had started to settle in, Dele’s body rocked with a small shiver as the drunken group of boys beside them let out a loud cheer, laughing and pushing at each other, a few of them jostling Harry and Jadon. 

Dele rolled his eyes and curled his hands into fists, fingers beginning to tingle with the numbing cold. He reached into the pocket of his coat, seeking out the thick red dark burgundy gloves his mum had bought him last Christmas. After he got him from his final exam yesterday he’d tucked them into his coat pocket before he’d hung it on the rack by the door. With the bite in the air making his skin sting, Dele was thankful he’d remembered they were safely in his pocket before he left and that he had them just in case. 

Dele frowned when his fingers scraped nothing in his deep pocket and quickly dug his hands into the pocket on the other side of his coat, huffed when he came up empty. He bit into his lip, frustrated since he was so sure that his gloves were there- he didn’t remember taking them out, there was no way, they should just be in his pocket. Dele scuffed the bottom of his shoe against the concrete, reached up to scrub over his tired eyes. 

It’s just, he was so fucking tired, had been looking forward to spending the night warm in bed and now he was out and the fucking group of boys behind them were so loud and Jesse and Marcus were making lovey eyes at each other and he was so fucking cold he just wanted his gloves. Dele huffed and crossed his arms over his chest, tucked his hands under his armpits in a pathetic attempt to warm them. 

Harry must have spotted the sour look on his face, because his brother quickly moved to lean on the wall beside Dele, reached a hand up to tug at his earring, swaying a bit as he looked at Dele, a big grin on his lips. “Delboy” Harry sang out and Dele huffed, reached up to smack Harry’s hand away with a pout on his lips. 

“Hey, come on mate, loosen up, it’ll be fun yeah? It’s been a while since we’ve been out, and the lads are keen to see you, you’ve done exams, lighten up mate- promise we can have a proper hungover lazy day tomorrow, and I’ll even shout your drinks tonight yeah? Come on” Harry’s voice was kind and Dele softened slightly, nodded with a small smile on his lips. 

“Yeah, yeah mate m’sorry, you’re right I just had a long week” Dele explained, even as another shiver rocked across his shoulders with a biting cold gust of wind. He didn’t want to be a downer, he didn’t want to make the night a drag because he hadn’t been planning on it and was feeling a bit extra mopey about being single as they were approaching Christmas. 

Another hard force of wind rushed over then and Eric hunched in on himself, fingers aching even tucked under his arms. “It’s just that it’s fucking freezing,” Dele said after a moment, tried to explain his grumpy demeanour further, now feeling like a bit of a dick. “My hands are just so cold” Dele whined, “thought I had my gloves, and not they’re in my coat, but I don’t know how-” Dele paused and let out a little gasp, his eyebrows raised. 

“Oh my god!! I fucking bet you Kyle took them the little bastard” Dele muttered, shook his head as he remembered his roommate complaining about his lack of proper winter clothes after he’d gotten caught in the rain on his way home from class one afternoon. Prick. Dele would get him for it later.

“Oi was wondering why you were moping so much” Jesse interjected, a teasing grin on his face as he shook his head at Dele. 

“You are weak you are mate, just a bit of cold weather innit?” Jesse huffed, reached out and poked at Dele’s shoulder. Dele just rolled his eyes and pushed at Jesse’s cap up with two fingers. Honestly, if it was any of the other boys he’d tell them to fuck off, but he and Jesse really had a mutual understanding of pissing each other off and making fun of each other, so he was happy to let it slide. Besides he was being a bit of a brat about coming out so he probably deserved it, doesn’t mean he wouldn’t continue to complain. 

“But Jess my hands are freezing and my stupid roommate took them, and now I’ll lose feeling in them what If my hands fall off?” Dele whined and pushed out but bottom lips into a pout for extra effect, eyes soft as he held out his hands at Jesse like he would be able to see the cold on his fingers.

Just as Dele opened his mouth to go on about frostbite, a warm pair of hands wrapped around his own, sending a jolt of heat low in the pit of his stomach at the unexpected contact. 

Dele drew his confused gaze up from the hands- wow big hands, wrapped around his own and felt his pulse rate pick up when his eyes met blue. Oh. Dele was tongue-tied as the “what the fuck” died on his tongue. Hand holding stranger was the prettiest boy he’d ever seen. 

It was cheesy and stupid but time really did seem to pause for dele for a moment as his eyes scanned over the man. A pretty mess of short blond hair on his head, stubbing blue eyes and dark pink full lips, a strong jawline and facial hair that took away from his boyish look and made it more rugged. 

Dele struggled to swallow and his eyes drew down to the peek of skin through the man’s scarf, the bludge of his Adam’s apple barely visible but the skin looked soft and warm. Dele flushed and pulled his eyes back up to the strangers, tried to shake the thought of burrowing his face into his neck- it just looked cosy okay and his hands were so warm and god he was so fucking gorgeous Dele thought he might actually be imagining him. 

The not sure if he is real stranger had a sweet look of rumbled concern on his face, hands squeezing at Dele’s fingers. 

“Dier! Dier, Jesus, mate- you’re too drunk, come here you idiot” Dele somehow manages to pull his eyes away from Big Hands Stranger at the sound of a thick gorgeous accent, eyes widening when he sees the man that has just come up and placed a hand on the man’s shoulder. 

Jesus Christ- there must have been some kind of model convention going on somewhere nearby because this man is almost as gorgeous as the first one, black hair, thick eyebrows and sparkling eyes with tanned skin. Dele really was unsure now if he was conscious or if this was some kinda fever dream he was having because he had slipped into actual pneumonia. 

Dele’s eyes fell back to Big Hand Stranger- Dier? He thinks the man’s friend said, an odd name but maybe he was foreign? He licked over his bottom lip as he eyed his features once more, the rose flush on his cheeks, slightly crooked line of his nose, his eyes a bit glassy and wet from the wind. 

Dele had never wanted to wrap himself up in a stranger more. He wanted to kiss the skin on the edge of his jaw, press himself close to him, god he was so broad, wanted to turn his hand to tangle their fingers together properly, kind of couldn’t look away. 

Dier seemed to realise at that moment that his friend was tugging at his wrists, his grip tightened and his hands stayed carefully wrapped around Dele’s, thumb rubbing back and forth on his thumb and Dele couldn’t be sure he isn’t in love with this boy. 

“Dier, mate come on, you’re annoying these guys” the friend insisted again, and Dier’s face crumpled into a look of frustration, brows crinkled and his eyes slightly squinted, he blinked twice before he turned to face his friend, swaying on the spot and Dele gripped tighter to his hands, not wanting him to fall. 

The squeeze of his hands caused Dier to look back at Dele, his blue eyes softened as they met Dele’s and a smile grew on his lips, and oh god Dele’s heart was hurting, his smile was more gorgeous than his concerned face and Dele couldn't take his eyes off him. 

Dier quickly turned back to his friend, eyes wide and brows raised in exasperation, “But this pretty boy had cold hands” He spoke, tone serious despite the words being somewhat slurred, voice low and warm and breaking ever so slightly on the word boy. 

Dele’s heart launched into his throat, and he took a small sharp breath in, fingers flexed in Dier’s grip, unable to look away. 

“This pretty boy had cold hands” 

Dele was freezing, but he was sure he had a pink flush heavy on his cheeks, his heart pounded hard in his chest, and he felt a shiver shoot down his spine. ‘Pretty boy’ the handsome stranger holding his hands, who was the fittest man he’d ever seen, thought he was pretty Dele thought as a small smile tugged up on his lips. Dier’s thumb brushed over the ring on Dele’s pointer finger and Dele felt himself sway in closer, eyes dancing over the line of his face, the white fog that cast out with every breath. 

“It’s ok” Dele spoke softly, surprised himself by his own voice, heart thudded as he tried to calm himself, tried not to sound like a total complete idiot. “He, he’s alright, my hands were so cold and he’s warm it’s ok” Dele spoke, smiled shyly at Dier, who was looking at him with fondness on his stupidly handsome face before he looked over to Dier’s friend. 

“Really, he’s alright” Dele assured him, stumbled a step forward when Dier pulled their joint hands to his chest, Dier swayed onto his heels, stumbled into his friend and let out a small laugh. 

“See Paulo, he was cold” Dier added with a small huff a shrug of his shoulders like that meant he, of course, had to come over and help, couldn’t just leave him to have freezing hands. 

Paulo laughed then and shook his head, reached up and ruffled his hand in Dier’s hair, wrapped an arm around his shoulders and winked at Dele. “Sorry, he is far too drunk you know, before we get here, happy to have his exams done” Paulo laughed, and Dele took a split second to look over to Harry who was stood beside him with a smirk, arms crossed and leant back, like he was watching an entertaining sports game. 

Marus and Jesse were too busy with each other, huddled together and talking, laughing and sharing small kisses. Of course. Jadon had disappeared from their group altogether, somewhere further up the line talking to a large group of girls.

Dele made his choice in that second, turned his gaze back to Eric, a smile bright on his face. Paulo tugged at Eric’s side, mumbled something to the man about getting back into the line. 

“You wanna get pancakes?” Dele asked suddenly, ignored the nudge of Harry’s elbow into his side and just focused on Eric’s eyes meeting his once more, his fingers squeezed Dele’s tightly. 

“Yeah, yeah m’fucking starving” Dier nodded quickly, laughed shortly and his eyes twinkled with it, lit a fire in the low of Dele’s stomach. 

There was a twenty-four-seven pancake place about a ten-minute work from here, one of Dele’s favourite places to study besides the library, a small booth with its yellow leather booth seats and outdated interior- with this boy holding his hands, that’s where he wanted to be right now. Something in his chest knew that was where he needed to be. 

“Okay cool” Dele beamed, nodded his head and looked down for a moment before he looked back up to Eric, the breath knocked out of his chest once more.

“Cool” Dier replied, dropped Dele’s hands and his stomach flipped sadly before Eric quickly took just one of his hands, fingers laced properly and pulled him out of the line. 

Dele ignored the jeering of his friends, the laughter of Paulo, and just turned to face Eric who was looking at him as they walked down the street. 

“I, uh, I’m Eric by the way, hi” He spoke softly. 

“Hi” Dele replied, a flicker of his smile at the corner of his mouth as blue eyes meet his once more. 

The lights across the street changed from red to green, catering light over Eric’s small grin. 

“I’m Dele” he replied and tightened his grip.


End file.
